Friday, November 30, 2012

Nickelodeon has announced the exciting Nickelodeon News in the following Press Release that, after ordering the pilot, Nickelodeon has decided to greenlight Dan Schneider's brand new live-action Nickelodeon original comedy show "Sam & Cat" to become a full television series! Production on the first season (season 1) of "Sam & Cat" is due to start in January 2013 in Los Angeles, California, USA, with Nickelodeon planing to premiere the brand new Nickelodeon sitcom "Sam & Cat" in 2013 as part of Nickelodeon's 2013 programming highlights.

Nickelodeon's brand new live-action original comedy series "Sam & Cat" will be a spin-off from Dan Schneider's hit live-action Nickelodeon comedy shows "iCarly" and "Victorious", and will feature Nickelodeon Stars Jennette McCurdy ("iCarly"'s Sam Puckett) and Ariana Grande ("Victorious"' Cat Valentine) reprising their roles from their respective hit shows, and will feature the pair as unlikely roommates who become teen entrepreneurs by starting their own after-school babysitting business.

Production Commences on 20 Episodes Featuring iCarly and Victorious Stars Who Embark on Crazy Adventures as Unlikely Best Friends and Part-Time Babysitters

SANTA MONICA, Calif., Nov. 30, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- On the heels of last week's series finale of iCarly that topped all basic cable with 6.4 million total viewers, Nickelodeon is announcing the series pick-up of Sam&Cat (20 episodes), a spin-off comedy from award-winning creator and executive producer Dan Schneider (iCarly, Victorious, Drake & Josh, Zoey 101). Starring Jennette McCurdy (iCarly's Sam Puckett) and Ariana Grande (Victorious' Cat Valentine) reprising their roles from their respective hit shows, Sam & Cat features the pair as unlikely roommates who become teen entrepreneurs by starting their own after-school babysitting business. Sam & Cat will premiere in 2013, with production beginning this January in Los Angeles.

"Jennette and Ariana are adored by our audience, and it's great to unite these talented actresses in this hilarious new comedy from Dan Schneider," said Russell Hicks, President, Content Development and Production, Nickelodeon. "This show promises to deliver on what our audience loves most about these two favorite characters -- laugh-out-loud humor and non-stop adventure, and is sure to be a compelling new chapter for our new comedic duo."

Best known for her comedic portrayal of Sam Puckett on the mega-hit Nickelodeon series iCarly, Jennette McCurdy most recently wrapped production on Nickelodeon's original TV movie Swindle. In addition, she was featured in two other Nick original TV movies, Fred: The Movie and Best Player. McCurdy has also guest starred on CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, Strong Medicine, Law & Order: SVU, Medium and Judging Amy.

Prior to garnering attention as the beloved character Cat Valentine on the Nickelodeon series Victorious, Ariana Grande performed on Broadway in the musical 13. This holiday, Ariana will star as Snow White at The Pasadena Playhouse in a presentation of "A Snow White Christmas" alongside Neil Patrick Harris and Charlene Tilton. Grande's other acting credits include a feature role in Nickelodeon's original TV movie Swindle and voiceover work on the animated Nick series Winx Club. Grande is also signed to Universal Republic Records and her first single, "Put Your Hearts Up," debuted at #24 on the pop charts. Grande is leading the way with her social media efforts on Twitter, Instagram and Keek, and her YouTube account has garnered over 115 million views.

Writer-producer Dan Schneider has established himself as a dominant force in the world of family entertainment by creatively drawing on his affinity for youth culture at Nickelodeon. Under his Schneider's Bakery Productions, he has carved a unique, progressive niche in the world of kid and family entertainment, most recently as creator and executive producer of the mega-hit Nickelodeon series iCarly starring Miranda Cosgrove, Victorious starring Victoria Justice and Zoey 101 starring Jamie Lynn Spears—all of which have received Emmy nominations. Schneider also created/executive produced The Amanda Show starring Amanda Bynes and Drake & Josh starring Drake Bell and Josh Peck. Schneider began with Nickelodeon as executive producer and show runner on the network's groundbreaking sketch comedy series All That from 1994 to 1998, and then returned to run the show in its seventh season. He then went on to produce Kenan & Kel, starring Kenan Thompson and Kel Mitchell. Schneider also created the hit WB series What I Like About You, starring Amanda Bynes and Jennie Garth. His comedic success has also translated to the big screen for which he wrote and produced the popular films, Good Burger and Big Fat Liar.

About Nickelodeon

Nickelodeon, now in its 33rd year, is the number-one entertainment brand for kids. It has built a diverse, global business by putting kids first in everything it does. The company includes television programming and production in the United States and around the world, plus consumer products, online, recreation, books, and feature films. Nickelodeon's U.S. television network is seen in more than 100 million households and has been the number-one-rated basic cable network for 17 consecutive years. For more information or artwork, visit www.nickpress.com. Nickelodeon and all related titles, characters and logos are trademarks of Viacom Inc. (NASDAQ: VIA, VIA.B).

Nickelodeon has commissioned a live-action series based on characters from its recently concluded series i-Carly and soon-to-end Victorious.

Sam & Cat (20x30′), created and exec produced by Dan Schneider, features two characters from the earlier series, which Schneider also created for the Viacom-owned children’s channel.

The story follows two girls, played by Ariana Grande (Victorious) and Jennette McCurdy (i-Carly), as they start their own babysitting business while rooming together at high school. Nick ordered a pilot of the show in August.

i-Carly’s hour-long finale, after six seasons on air, attracted 6.4 million viewers in the US last week, according to Viacom. Victorious is due to end next year

Viewers will be seeing a lot more of iCarly‘s Jennette McCurdy and Victorious‘ Ariana Grande as Nickelodeon has greenlit the spin-off comedy Sam & Cat.

The new 20-episode series, set to premiere in 2013 with production beginning this January in L.A., sees McCurdy reprise her role as Sam Puckett and Grande continue in her role as Cat Valentine.

In Sam & Cat, the two characters play unlikely roommates who launch an after-school babysitting business. Dan Schneider (iCarly, Victorious, Zoey 101) is the new show’s creator and executive producer.

The timing for the new series comes as iCarly said goodbye last week with 6.4 million viewers tuning in for the long-running show’s season finale and the recent news that Victorious is ending its run at three seasons.

Both McCurdy and Grande recently wrapped production on Nickelodeon’s original TV movie Swindle, a comedy film based on a children’s book by popular Canadian/American author Gordon Korman.

According to this news article on the official website of the Northumberland Gazette newspaper, northumberlandgazette.co.uk, former Nickelodeon UK and Ireland presenter Sy Thomas (The Crunch, ME:TV, Summer On Nickelodeon, Slime Across The UK And Ireland, Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards 2007 UK) will be starring as the "Peter Pan" character 'Smee' in the Sunderland Empire's pantomime production of "Peter Pan", which will open on Thursday 13th December 2012 and will run to Sunday 6th January 2012:

Pan-tastic day out

Sunderland Empire's pantomine for this Christmas will see the high-flying Peter Pan return to the stage.

From Thursday, December 13, to Sunday, January 6, a swashbuckling cast will take to the stage for one of the all-time Christmas favourites, adapted from the classic book by JM Barrie.

Tom Lister, best known as bad boy Carl King in ITV1 soap Emmerdale, stars as the dastardly Captain Hook this festive season.

The 34-year-old studied at the Birmingham School of Speech and Drama and went on to appear in TV shows including Heartbeat, Doctors and The Bill.

Joining North Yorkshire-born Tom on stage is children’s television favourite Katy Ashworth in the lead role of Peter Pan.

Best known for presenting I Can Cook on the CBeebies digital channel, Katy energises her young audience with her cheery personality.

An accomplished actress and singer, Katy achieved a first-class degree in drama from Exeter University.

She has taken the lead in several pantomimes and toured nationwide with her live one-woman slapstick comedy roadshow for youngsters aged three to seven.

Sy burst into the world of presenting at the kids TV channel Nickelodeon, fronting its live studio projects and continuity links for nearly two years.

He recently presented the CITV show The Cool Stuff Collective, a games and gadgets show, and can currently be seen every Friday afternoon in a new children’s comedy for CBBC, The Revolting World of Stanley Brown.

Sarah Jane Buckley stars as Mrs Darling.

Sarah is best known as crazy Kathy Barnes in the Channel 4 soap Hollyoaks and boasts an impressive array of musical, pantomine and cabaret credits all over the world.

They include her award-winning one-woman cabaret show.

Sarah recently played Eva Cassidy in a national tour of Over the Rainbow.

Peter Pan is being staged by UK Productions in arrangement with London’s Great Ormond Street Hospital Children’s Charity and Samuel French.

Tickets to see the Sunderland Empire’s seasonal trip to Neverland cost from £10 to £29.50.

Commissioners want more girl-skewed animation and say there is not enough coming their way. Producers say that commissioners often shun girl-skewed ideas as they are worried boys will turn off. Meanwhile, a handful of shows with girl characters are global hits.

Asking kids TV executives why there are not more cartoons with lead girl characters or girl-skewing shows, elicits a similar answer, that it is because girls will watch shows aimed at boys, but not vice-versa. Also, often cited is the idea that girls move away from cartoons and on to live-action and are tuning into Hannah Montana while their brothers are still glued to animated fare.

With tens of thousands of hours of animated content produced annually, there are inevitably some ‘girls’ shows including Dora the Explorer, Totally Spies, Peppa Pig, Olivia and Winx Club that are, or have been, bona-fide international hits. But there has historically been reluctance to greenlight shows skewed toward girls or with girl leads.

Kay Benbow has been controller of CBeebies since May 2010 and before that was head of production at the BBC’s digital kids channel. She has been the kids TV executive most vocal about the lack of girl-skewing toons, most recently telling delegates at the Children's Media Conference in Sheffield, UK, that there was still a dearth of these shows.

“I have said for a while that a majority of proposals coming across my desk were boy-led ideas and I think you have to ask the right questions of the creative and production community, as we always would with a live-action show.” Kay Benbow, controller CBeebies

“I have said for a while that a majority of proposals coming across my desk were boy-led ideas and I think you have to ask the right questions of the creative and production community, as we always would with a live-action show,” she says. “It’s not about being politically correct; it’s about making sure the audience sees itself reflected back on screen.

“There have always been girl characters, but they were usually secondary, there was a perception that boys wouldn’t watch girl leads although girls would watch boys. Recent research has challenged that perception and as many boys as girls watch Everything's Rosie, for example. It’s a young, fresh, girl-led show and next year we will have another, Sarah & Duck.”

The latter will be produced by UK indie Karrot Entertainment and air on CBeebies in the UK and the BBC Worldwide-operated international CBeebies channels. V&S Entertainment's Everything's Rosie, meanwhile, has just been picked up for a fourth season by CBeebies and with the addition of the new 26x11mins there will be 104 episodes of the show.

The idea boys won’t watch girls shows is a lazy assumption. Boys will watch Disney and Nickelodeon’s ostensibly girl-skewed live action shows for the funny, slapstick and spooky moments just as girls will watch the new Turtles or action series.

“It’s a myth that boys will not accept a girls show, maybe they won’t admit they have seen it, but if the ingredients are there they will watch for sure,” says Lionel Marty, president, worldwide distribution at Moonscoop. “I also think there’s an evolution of kids, especially in the Western world, where boys are more accepting of their feminine sides. There are examples such as Cartoon Network in France having telenovela series, which are working well despite it being a boy’s channel.”

Moonscoop distributes Chloe’s Closet. In each episode, the titular female lead goes into her closet and dresses up in a different costume. The fact it could be an astronaut’s outfit or that of a princess widens the gender appeal.

While the playing field has levelled, the dominance of boys toons in recent years created a window of opportunity for producers and broadcasters willing to take a risk on a girls show and determined enough to get it launched.

Winx Club

When Winx Club rolled out on Italy's Rai, it was launching into a very boy-fuelled market for animation. The show, which is aimed at 4-to-7s and follows seven girl superheroes, the Winx Club. It has since become the first Italian animated property on US TV and has sold worldwide.

“In the late 90s when we were developing the show, the attention of producers and buyers was focused on boys and on action,” explains Iginio Straffi, the creator of Winx and founder of the company that produces it, Rainbow, which has its own studio in Ancona, Italy. “I was thinking they had forgotten about the girls and especially in terms of superheroes although Marvel had tried girl superheroes without success.

“It was very difficult to convince broadcasters and they thought that every boy would switch channels. I thought there was a gap in the market and Pokémon and Dragonball were scoring high with boys, but losing girls.”

Straffi says that the boy/girl split of viewers was even at first, but the larger Winx became the more it was defined as a show for girls. “Once the property was huge the idea was out that it was something for a specific target audience,” he says. “We have made ‘boys’ shows like Huntik, but we are perceived as the studio with a high level of know-how in making shows for girls, in the same way that Marvel makes shows for boys” he adds.

This perception has been reinforced with the animated shows that followed in Winx’s footsteps, Mia and Me and Pop Pixie. Rainbow is now looking at different styles and shows for different ages and has greenlit a concept for older girls that has been three years in development.

There is a distinction between different age groups and different types of broadcaster.

“You need to split it into preschool and tween and into multichannel and public broadcaster,” says Zoë Scurfield, head of development and production at Coolabi, the IP company that makes Poppy Cat.

Scurfield, who was at Disney for over a decade and was executive director of programming for Disney Channels in the UK, Scandi and emerging markets, says that as the multichannel universe has expanded, the broadcasters have been able to segment content for different genders and demos on different channels and commission accordingly. “The public broadcasters, meanwhile, need very strong entry points for boys and girls and need to appeal to both.” CBeebies’ Benbow agrees: “We do have a different responsibility,” she says.

The world of licensing and merchandising, which provides much of the income in the kids world, is rigidly pink or blue. If L+M is part of the plan from the earliest stage of a show’s development, the rights owners need to know the part of the toy store in which they want a presence.

Mike Dee, Coolabi’s director of content, says: “Preschool, boys and girls do not make different associations between boy and girls properties, but Mike Dee, Coolabi’s director of content, says: “Preschool boys and girls do not make different associations between boy or girl properties, but the adults do when they are buying products. The retailers are an important part of the chain and they split their aisles into boy and girl and there are few crossovers.”

With Poppy Cat, the retailer feedback ahead of the launch of consumer products was that the soft toy packaging had to be more pink because Poppy is a girl.

Hasbro Studios is well aware of off-screen commercial possibilities given that its shows are invariably based on intellectual property from the toy company itself. It owns Strawberry Shortcake and My Little Pony, which have both been made into TV series.

The latest show from the Hasbro Studios production arm is The Littlest Pet Shop. It is based on a range of collectible creatures. They did not have individual names in the toy world and to create a fully-fledged story Hasbro has introduced another brand, Blythe, based on a collectible doll it sold in the 1960s, as a key character. In the show she moves to the big city with her pilot dad and befriends and looks after the animals in the pet shop below her new home.

“It skews older than something like Dora or Strawberry Shortcake and is more sophisticated,” says Finn Arnesen, senior VP, international distribution and development at Hasbro Studios. “We’ve brought two brands together and have a fringe primetime entertaining comedy series. Empowering girls is important and the series shows girls that they can be anything they want to be. It is girl-skewed, but we hope boys will watch for the comedy.”

The after-school slot on many dedicated kids channels is ripe for a girl-skewed show like this ahead of a big-ticket boys action show, he adds.

How to appropriately reach a girl audience is another question. “There are a lot of projects out there all about fashion and looks, but that’s not necessarily what we need,” says Halle Stanford, executive VP, entertainment at The Jim Henson Company. It is developing Four Seasons, a CGI show about four sprites, of diverse ethnicities, who are the daughters of Mother Nature and embody each of the seasons.

“When we initially pitched it we were basically told ‘we’re not looking for properties aimed at girls’, which was frustrating for Lisa (Henson) and me. If that thinking is driven by the toy aisles of Toys R Us, people need to remember there is also a girl’s aisle.”

The preschool property will be developed as a publishing property while conversations carry on with potential TV partners.

The approach to portraying positive images of girls and women onscreen is a complex one, Halle adds. “The Geena Davis Institute studies gender in the media and how girls and women are represented in entertainment and that got us thinking about how girls should be portrayed and not just the as the main characters, but elsewhere such as in crowd scenes.”

The Geena Davis Institute's research analysed a plethora of kids shows on US TV that aired in 2005 (and given the long-tail nature of kids TV, are likely still airing on a channel somewhere). It found that, broadly, male characters occur at twice the rate of their female counterparts and the imbalance is more marked in animated than live-action programming.

The study, An Analysis of Popular Films and TV, by Dr. Stacy L. Smith (Annenberg School for Communication) and Crystal Allene Cook (The Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media) stated: “Clearly, animation appears to favour highly sexualised female characters with unrealistic body ideals.” It concluded: “Despite the Civil Rights Movement in the 1950/60s and the rise of second wave Feminism in the 1970s, on screen gender equality still does not exist.”

Screenwatch: SheZow!

Producers: Moody Street Kids, Kickstart Productions

Distributor: DHX Media

Concept: Comedy about a male/female superhero

Airing: Network Ten, ABC (Australia)

SheZow! is a 52x11mins animated series for 8-to-12s that truly straddles the gender divide. It follows a macho 12 year-old, Guy, who finds a ring that gives him superhero powers. However, the ring was meant to be worn by a girl, meaning that Guy is transformed into a superhero in a girls costume, replete with big hair, high heeled go-go boots and powers including female intuition.

The show is produced by Australia’s Moody Street Kids and LA-based Kickstart Productions for Australian free-to-air broadcaster Network Ten and public net ABC’s digital kids channel ABC3.

DHX is handling international sales of the comedy series and Josh Scherba, senior VP, distribution, says: “He is a superhero who finds his skirt is riding up as he is battling villains! We knew girls would get a kick from the story and also wanted to ensure there was a strong boy voice in there.

“Girls start watching live-action earlier than boys and to get that girl audience a show needs to be clever, something like Phineas and Ferb has broken through and has a strong, older girl audience.”

DHX had the first completed episodes of SheZow! at MIPJunior.

Case Study

Totally Spies: from anime to Franime

Totally Spies is arguably the original girl power series, in the Western world at least. The Marathon Media show mixes US-style humour with an anime visual style and is now the longest-running animation series ever produced in France. It has also broken into the US on Cartoon Network, which generally targets boys.

“Twelve years ago when we came up with the idea, people said, and still say, that if you are doing a show for girls it won’t attract a boy audience, which is a great mistake,” says David Michel, the show’s co-creator (with Vincent Chalvon-Demersay) and cofounder of Marathon, which is now part of Zodiak Media.

Chalvon-Demersay and Michel watched the ‘magical girl’ anime shows in Japan and series like Asahi and Toei’s long-running anime show Pretty Cure, which convinced them there was a gap in Western markets, particularly when these anime series started being exported and working in France and Southern Europe.

It was also the time of Girl Power and girl-skewed teen movies including Clueless and Bring it On, all of which fed into Totally Spies, which was made in a style dubbed ‘Franime’.

Michel says: “It went to TF1 and ABC Family (latterly Fox Kids, Jetix and now Disney XD) and although no-one was expecting it, it was a success. There are three girl leads it gets a 50-50 boy/girl audience wherever it runs, even in Lat-Am, Italy and Southern Europe where there is a more macho culture.”

Season six will debut on TF1. Disney France has pay TV rights and Nickelodeon has it for a large part of Europe. Cartoon Network in the US aired season one though five, but a US deal has not yet been concluded for the new series.

Thursday, November 29, 2012

Nickelodeon Canada has announced on their official website, NickCanada.com, the Nickelodeon News that, as a special Christmas present to Canadian television viewers, Nickelodeon Canada will holding a special promotion called "Nickelodeon Free Preview", where Nick Canada will be subscription free throughout December 2012, allowing Canadian satellite and cable viewers to enjoy Nick Canada's Christmas holiday programming line-up, including Nickmas, featuring the best holiday programming Nickelodeon has to offer, as part of "December on Nickelodeon Canada 2012"!

For the ENTIRE MONTH of December kids can enjoy a line-up of Nick favourites like SpongeBob SquarePants and T.U.F.F. Puppy, new shows like Fred: The Show, and extra-special events like Nickmas, featuring the best holiday programming Nick has to offer!

Nickelodeon Canada has announced on their official website, NickCanada.com, the Nickelodeon News that Nickelodeon Canada will premiere the brand new Nickelodeon reality show "You Gotta See This", which is hosted by Nickelodeon Stars Noah Caleb Crawford and Chris Richard O'Neal (who portray the characters 'Nelson Baxter' and 'Kevin Reed', respectively, in the popular Nickelodeon comedy series "How To Rock") on Saturday 1st December 2012 at 7.00pm (ET):

The show that rolls the funniest interviews, bloopers, pranks, and web clips of the week into one hilarious half-hour show is coming to Nick! “You Gotta See This” premieres December 1st at 7pm ET!

Nick's brand new reality series, "You Gotta See This", combines the best of the web, behind-the-scenes footage, celebrity interviews, pranks, bloopers, and more into a half-hour show, that rolls all the must-see clips of the week into one package.

The Canadian media and entertainment company Corus Entertainment has announced in their websites' Media Centre on corusent.com that the Canadian youth television station 'YTV' will premiere and show Nickelodeon's brand-new live-action/CGI original television movie "A Fairly Odd Christmas", which is based on the popular animated original Nickelodeon show ("Nicktoon") "Fairly Odd Parents", and stars Nickelodeon Star Drake Bell as 'Timmy Turner' and Nickelodeon Star Daniella Monet as 'Tootie', the sister of 'Vicky', in Canada on Wednesday 5th December 2012 at 6.00pm ET/PT, and plans to show encores of the brand new Nickelodeon special on Saturday 15th December 2012 at 4.00pm, Saturday 22nd December 2012 at 9.00am and Monday 24th December (Christmas Eve) at 9.00am (all times E/P), as part of YTV's Christmas programming highlights:

The Canadian media and entertainment company Corus Entertainment has announced in their official Media Centre that the Canadian youth television station 'YTV' will premiere and show Nickelodeon's first full-length stop-motion animated special "It's A SpongeBob Christmas!" in Canada on Friday 7th December 2012 at 6.00pm ET/PT, as part of YTV's Christmas programming highlights:

According to the Canadian youth television station 'YTV' in a 'iCarly' themed background on their official website, YTV.com, YTV will premiere and show the one-hour series finale of the hit Nickelodeon comedy show "iCarly", called "iGoodbye", in Canada on Saturday 1st December 2012 at 8.00pm (E/P)!

iCarly
iGoodbye
Series finale!
Saturday at 8pm (e/p)

To celebrate YTV premiering the finale episode of the popular Nickelodeon sitcom "iCarly" on Saturday 1st December 2012 at 8.00pm (E/P), YTV is asking Canadian fans and viewers of "iCarly" to send them Tweets featuring their favourite moments from the hit Nickelodeon comedy series to YTV's official Twitter profile page, @YTV, using the Twitter hashtag #iMemories!

You can find out more information about the series finale of "iCarly", including the episodes storyline, here on NickALive!.

Below is a review of the brand new live-action/CGI Nickelodeon original television movie "A Fairly Odd Christmas", which is based on the popular animated original Nickelodeon show ("Nicktoon") "Fairly Odd Parents", and stars Nickelodeon Star Drake Bell ("The Amanda Show", "Drake & Josh", "A Fairly Odd Movie: Grow Up, Timmy Turner!") as 'Timmy Turner' and Nickelodeon Star Daniella Monet ("Victorious", "Fred 2: Night of the Living Fred", "Fred 3: Camp Fred", "A Fairly Odd Movie: Grow Up, Timmy Turner!") as 'Tootie', the sister of 'Vicky', which Nickelodeon USA will premiere and show on Thursday 29th November 2012 at 7.00pm (ET/PT) and Nickelodeon UK and Ireland and Nickelodeon HD UK will premiere and show on Saturday 1st December 2012 at 8.00am (repeated at 9.00am on Nick UK's plus-one (+1) timeshift channel, Nickelodeon +1), with an encore at 4.00pm (replayed at 5.00pm on Nick+1), as part of "December on Nickelodeon 2012" and "Christmas On Nickelodeon 2012", from the Los Angeles Times:

Television review: 'A Fairly Odd Christmas' offers cheer to show fans

Nickelodeon's TV movie will make more sense to the audience of the network's 'The Fairly OddParents' but is still watchable as holiday shows about saving Christmas go. It stars Drake Bell, Daran Norris and Susanne Blakeslee.

"A Fairly Odd Christmas," which premieres Thursday on Nickelodeon, is the second (mostly) live-action TV movie to be sprung from the network's long-running cartoon series "The Fairly OddParents" (ninth season coming! 2013!). Though its appeal will be primarily to fans of the show, and its details confusing to everybody else, it should be diverting enough to anyone wanting to consume a few holiday tropes prepared with a pinch of attitude.

Written by "OddParents" creator Butch Hartman, and directed, as was last year's "A Fairly Odd Movie: Grow Up, Timmy Turner!," by Savage Steve Holland ("Big Time Rush," "Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide"), it stars Drake Bell, who grew up on the Nick sitcom "Drake and Josh," as an adult, which is not to say mature, version of the titular Timmy (who is 10 in the cartoon, where Bell is 26, in the world we call real).

Pursuant to new rules set down at the end of the previous film, he has been allowed to keep his fairy godparents (Daran Norris voicing Cosmo, Susanne Blakeslee as Wanda, with baby Poof now onboard) as long as he does not make wishes for himself. And so they rocket around the world in a flying van, hearing and granting wishes willy-nilly, heedless of their unintended consequences.

His territory encroached upon, Santa Claus summons the crew, also including Timmy's girlfriend Tootie (Daniella Monet), to the North Pole. (Mr. Crocker, the Lionel Barrymore of the piece, stows away to get his name off the naughty list. "What's that? Some kind of blog?" he asks when he learns of its existence.) All heck breaks loose, naturally — it turns out that elves and fairies have an ancient beef, and Timmy and Cosmo are habitual well-intentioned creators of chaos — occasioning a Christmas Must Be Saved story and a journey across authentic Vancouver, Canada, snowscapes to save it.

There are riled-up gingerbread men along the way and — a thing you have never seen before — a rickety rope bridge across a yawning chasm. (Boiling eggnog flows below.)

No one here is trying very hard to convey anything like a deep or subtle human emotion. Rather, they endeavor to honor their animated originals, and do a nice job of it. Bell is an appealing performer whose agent really ought to be looking past Nickelodeon already, while David Lewis as Crocker and Mark Gibbon as fairy king Jorgen Von Strangle (the looks of Dolph Lundgren, the voice of Arnold Schwarzenegger) offer convincing impersonations of their animated originals.

The fairies are rendered in CGI, and blend well with their human co-stars.

Below is a Nickelodeon News article from the 'Nickelodeon Stars' section of the (geo-locked) official Nickelodeon USA website, Nick.com, about Nickelodeon's brand-new live-action/CGI original television movie "A Fairly Odd Christmas", which is based on the popular animated original Nickelodeon show ("Nicktoon") "Fairly Odd Parents", and stars Nickelodeon Star Drake Bell ("The Amanda Show", "Drake & Josh", "A Fairly Odd Movie: Grow Up, Timmy Turner!") as 'Timmy Turner' and Nickelodeon Star Daniella Monet ("Victorious", "Fred 2: Night of the Living Fred", "Fred 3: Camp Fred", "A Fairly Odd Movie: Grow Up, Timmy Turner!") as 'Tootie', the sister of 'Vicky', which Nickelodeon USA will premiere and show on Thursday 29th November 2012 at 7.00pm (ET/PT) and Nickelodeon UK and Ireland and Nickelodeon HD UK will premiere and show on Saturday 1st December 2012 at 8.00am (repeated at 9.00am on Nick UK's plus-one (+1) timeshift channel, Nickelodeon +1), with an encore at 4.00pm (replayed at 5.00pm on Nick+1), as part of "December on Nickelodeon 2012" and "Christmas On Nickelodeon 2012"!:

Daniella Monet Returns In A Fairly Odd Christmas!

The Fairly Odd Parents are back to bid you season's greetings in the new special, A Fairly Odd Christmas! This flick not only features famous Nick star Drake Bell returning as Timmy Turner, but also the fabulous Daniella Monet reprising her role as Tootie! That's right, this Victorious superstar is heading back to FOP land to show the world just what the holidays are about...togetherness!

Now let's get down to deets. In this holiday-themed special, Timmy accidentally sets off a panic at the North Pole after granting too many wishes (with the help of his fairy godparents). Turns out, they dished out so many wishes, kids started doubting that Santa Claus exists (uh-oh)! With the help of Tootie and friends, Timmy has to save Christmas or else he might end up spending the rest of his younger years on the Naughty List.

Find out what happens when A Fairly Odd Christmas hits the tube this Thursday night at 7/6c. This new flick is gonna be so awesome, you'll wish you could watch it again and again!

It's nearly 2013, which means that the Nickelodeon 2013 Kids' Choice Awards are quite nearly just around the corner, and to celebrate, Nickelodeon UK and Ireland are asking on their official Twitter profile page (@NickelodeonUK) for viewers and fans to send them suggestions for which brand new UK-specific Kids' Choice Awards award category's they would like to be added to Nickelodeon UK's version of the 26th Annual Kids' Choice Awards, which are due to be held during Spring 2013:

If you've got an idea of a brand new KCA category which you would like to see as part of KCA 2013 UK, you can send your Kids Choice Awards 2013 UK category suggestion to Nickelodeon UK by sending a Tweet (post) containing your KCA category suggestion to Nick UK's official Twitter feed, @NickelodeonUK!

According to this Nickelodeon UK News article on the official expressandstar.com website, Nickelodeon UK has arranged for Nickelodeon megastar SpongeBob SquarePants to revisit Wolverhampton on Sunday 2nd December 2012 so he can meet and greet more of his Wolverhampton fans after some of his fans were left disappointed during his last visit to Wolverhampton to turn on the city's Christmas lights due to health and safety concerns:

SpongeBob SquarePants bouncing back after E&S story causes a stir

SpongeBob SquarePants is coming back to Wolverhampton – after the Express & Star revealed thousands missed seeing him at the city's Christmas lights switch-on because of health and safety red tape.

The children's character could not climb the stairs on to the stage at the festive extravaganza because of the size of his costume and could not be hoisted up on the back of a lorry because of the huge crowds that had turned up to see him.

Young fans who had braved the cold weather to see the star during the Christmas ceremony last Wednesday were left disappointed when he remained on ground level, meaning many could not see him over the huge crowds.

But, after this newspaper revealed why the character had not been elevated above the throng, children's channel Nickelodeon has now stepped in to organise a return visit to the city.

The character will be at the Mander Centre on Sunday [2nd December 2012] from midday to 4pm.

And Nickelodeon will cover the costs of the visit – after the city council paid £1,845 to hire the actor for last week's let-down.

“SpongeBob is all about spreading joy and happiness and when we learned about what had happened on Wednesday, we knew that we would have to bring him back to the city so that his Wolverhampton fans could get the SpongeBob experience that they deserve.”

Mark Blackstock, head of entertainment and events for Wolverhampton City Council, added: “We are so pleased that SpongeBob is making a return visit to Wolverhampton so soon.

“We regret any disappointment caused at Wednesday’s event and look forward to SpongeBob being able to meet his many local fans in person.”

Families can see Spongebob on the lower ground level of the Mander Centre on Sunday, where he will post for photos and give away prizes.

Despite not being able to get on to the stage, Spongebob was able to meet and greet fans in both Beatties store and Market Square during last week’s Christmas festivities, but could only spend two 40-minute sessions with fans because of health and safety rules.

Wednesday, November 28, 2012

According to the official Sky Media websites' 'Sky TV's Children's Television Highlights In December 2012' webpage, Nickelodeon UK has announced the Nickelodeon UK News that Nickelodeon UK's animation channel, Nicktoons UK and Ireland, will premiere and show more brand new episodes of the popular animated Nickelodeon series ("Nicktoon") "The Penguins of Madagascar" from Tuesday 4th December 2012 as part of NickToons UK's brand new programming block "Something New On Tuesdays" (also known as "SNOT"/"S.N.O.T.") and as part of "December on NickToons UK 2012":

The Penguins of Madagascar (New Eps)NickToonsFrom Tuesday 4 December

The Penguins of Madagascar tells the story of a group of penguins who believes it leads an elite strike force from its Central Park Zoo headquarters. While the brothers have their flippers full keeping their multi-species zoo neighborhood happy, at times their secret missions beckon them to venture out onto the busy streets of New York City.

According to the official Sky Media UK websites' 'Sky TV's Children's Television Schedule Highlights In December 2012' webpage, to celebrate the upcoming Christmas holidays, Kix, a free-to-air children's and teen's television channel in the UK, will be holding a "Power Rangers Month" in December 2012, where Kix will be showing every episode of the "Power Rangers Wild Force", "Power Rangers Dino Thunder" and "Power Rangers S.P.D." Power Ranger series' over Sunday 23rd, Monday 24th (Christmas Eve) and Tuesday 25th December 2012 (Christmas Day) as part of "Christmas on Kix 2012":

Power Rangers MonthKixThroughout December

We will be going a bit Power Ranger crazy in December on Kix! We are showing every episode of Wild Force, Dino Thunder and SPD on the 23rd, 24th and 25th December! You don’t want to miss it!

Sky Media UK has also announced that Kix's sister channel, PopGirl, will be holding a "Wicked Weekends" programming stunt over every weekend during December 2012, which will feature marathons of the Classic Nickelodeon UK television show "Sabrina The Teenage Witch" as part of "December on PopGirl 2012":

Wicked WeekendsPopGirlThroughout December

December we have Wicked Weekends, with back to back Sabrina all weekend from 11am – 6pm! It’s magical! Not only this but we will have Christmas episodes from your favourite shows on Christmas Eve and Christmas day!

Nickelodeon USA has announced the Nickelodeon News in the following Press Release that, to celebrate this years holiday season, Nickelodeon USA will premiere and show the brand new "Peter Rabbit" primetime holiday special called "Peter Rabbit's Christmas Tale" on Friday 14th December 2012 at 7.00pm (ET/PT). Told with humor and heart, the brand new "Peter Rabbit" Christmas special is a fresh re-imagining of the classic Beatrix Potter children's books, which have sold over 250 million copies worldwide and been translated into 35 languages. To celebrate the premiere "Peter Rabbit's Christmas Tale" on Nickelodeon US, the official Nick Jr. USA website has unveiled a exclusive online streaming video featuring a clip from the brand new "Peter Rabbit" festive special, which visitors from North America can watch here on NickJr.com. From PRNewswire:

NEW YORK, Nov. 28 2012 /Nickelodeon Press Release via PRNewswire/ -- Peter Rabbit hops on to the TV screen with the premiere of Nickelodeon's brand-new primetime holiday special, "Peter Rabbit's Christmas Tale," Friday, Dec. 14, at 7 p.m. (ET/PT). Told with humor and heart, the special is a fresh re-imagining of the classic Beatrix Potter children's books, which have sold over 250 million copies worldwide and been translated into 35 languages. Peter Rabbit is produced in conjunction with Silvergate Media and animated by Brown Bag Films.

"Nickelodeon is thrilled to bring this beloved book series to life on TV so kids can experience Peter Rabbit in a whole new way this holiday," said Teri Weiss, EVP, Production and Development, Nickelodeon Preschool. "We have captured the spirit of the Peter Rabbit stories, while modernizing for today's preschoolers through high-stakes adventures, comedic characters and vibrant CG-animation."

In "Peter Rabbit's Christmas Tale," Peter Rabbit and his friend Benjamin Bunny take over for Mr. Bouncer when he gets sick and can't make the important holiday supply delivery. They brave a blizzard and a sneaky fox, Mr. Tod, in order to deliver important gifts and supplies to the residents of the Lake District. Along the way, Peter and Benjamin meet a new friend, Lily Bobtail. Inspired by Beatrix Potter, Lily is strong, smart, independent, curious, a nature-lover and artist who is just as willful and playful as her male counterparts.

Set in Potter's treasured Lake District, Peter lives in a world where behind every rock there is a surprise to discover and where dangers (be it a sly fox or bad-tempered badger) lurk around every corner. Peter Rabbit features educational goals that encourage preschoolers to learn problem-solving and interpersonal skills, self-efficacy, resilience, positive re-framing and fostering an interest in and respect for nature.

Nickelodeon's award-winning website, www.nickjr.com, currently offers parents and preschoolers a sneak peek of the holiday special plus Peter Rabbit coloring pages, stickers and mazes. On Monday, Dec. 3, nickjr.com will launch "Presents from Peter," where users will be able to go online every day to unlock a new special gift from Peter Rabbit such as holiday ornaments, holiday cards, activity packs and more.

About Silvergate Media

Silvergate Media is a privately-held creative company, formed in October 2011 through the purchase of the rights to two preschool properties: Peter Rabbit and The Octonauts. Upon formation, Silvergate immediately resumed production of the Peter Rabbit animated series and greenlit Season 2 and Season 3 of The Octonauts. Silvergate Media exploits its properties across a range of formats, from new television productions to toys, apparel and licensed merchandise.

About Brown Bag Films

Brown Bag Films® is an award-winning animation studio, producing high quality animation for the international market. Established in 1994 by Cathal Gaffney and Darragh O'Connell, Brown Bag Films remains a creative-led company. Their numerous awards include Oscar nominations for Give Up Yer Aul Sins (2002) and Granny O'Grimm's Sleeping Beauty (2010), and Bafta and Emmy nominations for The Octonauts (2012). Employing more than 120 full time staff in their Dublin-based headquarters, with a second office in LA, Brown Bag Films are committed to producing the highest-quality, cross-platform animation with strong stories and engaging characters.

Recent productions include Chorion's Olivia for Nickelodeon US, Enid Blyton's Noddy in Toyland for Chorion/FIVE UK, The Octonauts for Silvergate Media/BBC and Disney Junior's Doc McStuffins, which is currently the No. 1 rating preschool cable show in America. Current productions include Henry Hugglemonster for Disney Junior, Peter Rabbit for Silvergate Media/Nickelodeon/CBeebies, and second seasons of The Octonauts and Doc McStuffins.

About Nickelodeon

Nickelodeon, now in its 33rd year, is the number-one entertainment brand for kids. It has built a diverse, global business by putting kids first in everything it does. The company includes television programming and production in the United States and around the world, plus consumer products, online, recreation, books and feature films. Nickelodeon's U.S. television network is seen in more than 100 million households and has been the number-one-rated basic cable network for 17 consecutive years. For more information or artwork, visit http://www.nickpress.com. Nickelodeon and all related titles, characters and logos are trademarks of Viacom Inc. (NASDAQ: VIA, VIA.B).

(*Artwork available via nickpress.com; screeners available upon request)

Tuesday, November 27, 2012

Broadcasters across Latin America have picked up a host of Nickelodeon and MTV programmes distributed by Viacom International Media Networks (VIMN).

Banderirantes in Brazil has acquired the first seasons of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Supah Ninjas and T.U.F.F Puppy as well as seasons one to three of Avatar: The Last Airbender and True Jackson.

Fellow Brazilian broadcaster Band TV, meanwhile, has taken seasons one and two of Fanboy & Chum Chum, seasons one and two of Big Time Rush, and seasons one to four of the comedies Drake & Josh and Kenan & Kel.

Chile’s UCVTV has signed for a Nick Jr block package covering preschool animation, which includes deals for Bubble Guppies, Team Umizoomi and seasons three and four of Dora the Explorer.

Ecuador’s Teleamazonas has also closed new deals for Nickelodeon Movies, live-action and animation programming, plus renewals across the portfolio.

In Mexico, pan-regional pay-TV station Sky Mexico has taken an MTV package covering series such as Aeon Flux, Joe Schmo Show, Dudesons in America and Made, as well as a variety of music specials.

Finally, Telenica in Nicaragua has picked up season two of Big Time Rush, the first season of Supah Ninjas and the new episodes of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, as well as Jersey Shore and the show’s specials from MTV.

The news comes as Viacom has been named as the channel group bringing in the most revenue in Europe, with US$741m anticipated for 2012.

Digital TV Research’s report TV Channel Revenues in Europe forecasts that Viacom will remain the leader for the foreseeable future, with its revenue set to grow to just under US$1bn in 2017.

Overall, total revenue for Europe’s top pay-TV channels will reach US$4.24bn this year, according to the report, which expects this figure to grow by US$1.04bn to US$5.28bn by 2017. You can read the full report here.

In his new role, which is effective immediately, Mr. Davis will be responsible for the Company's accounting and financial reporting, planning, tax and treasury functions. He will also continue to oversee the strategy and corporate development functions across Viacom.

Mr. Dooley said, "This is a well-deserved promotion for Wade, who has made so many contributions to the growth and success of Viacom. We are fortunate to have such a multi-talented executive in our ranks with the leadership skills and the depth of experience to move seamlessly into the CFO role. He is respected throughout the company for his knowledge of our industry and his financial expertise. Wade has worked closely with me and with Viacom's entire senior team on important strategic initiatives, while also leading a disciplined corporate development program that has enabled us to tap new growth areas, both domestically and around the world."

Mr. Dooley continued, "We want to thank Jimmy for his professionalism and many years of dedicated service to Viacom, particularly his outstanding work to strengthen our financial position. His focus and expertise were greatly appreciated by me, as well as by our financial team and everyone at the company who worked closely with him. We wish Jimmy all the best as he moves on to new opportunities beyond Viacom."

Mr. Davis said, "I feel extremely fortunate to take on this new role at Viacom. This is an exciting and challenging time for our company and our industry and I am looking forward to continuing to work with Tom and Philippe Dauman, our President and CEO, to keep Viacom financially strong and out in front. Best of all, I step in on day one as CFO with a world-class financial team by my side. Having worked with them closely for many years, I know first hand the depth of their experience and the breadth of their expertise. Working together, I know that we will continue to help Viacom achieve its financial and strategic goals."

Mr. Davis joined Viacom in December 2005 as Senior Vice President of Mergers and Acquisitions and assumed the additional duties of Strategic Planning and Corporate Development in 2009. During his seven years with the company, Mr. Davis has led the formation of some of the Company's most significant joint ventures such as Viacom18 (India) and EPIX, and managed key corporate-wide strategic partnerships with companies such as Microsoft Corporation and Unilever. Mr. Davis has also overseen the Company's mergers and acquisitions activity including the acquisition of Dreamworks SKG, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Atom Shockwave. He has also been a key member of the teams driving many of the Company's most significant operational transactions including the lease renewal of the Company's Manhattan headquarters and key advertising partnerships.

Previously, Mr. Davis was an investment banker in the technology and media sectors for more than a decade at firms including Wasserstein Perella & Co and Lazard Freres & Co. Mr. Davis has been active in the reform of public education and co-founded AdvancePath Academics, which operates technology-based centers to recover and educate high school dropouts. Additionally, Mr. Davis served as EVP of Operations for Americas Choice, Inc.

Mr. Davis holds degrees with distinction and honors in both philosophy and economics from Williams College.

About Viacom

Viacom is home to the world's premier entertainment brands that connect with audiences through compelling content across television, motion picture, online and mobile platforms in over 160 countries and territories. With media networks reaching approximately 700 million global subscribers, Viacom's leading brands include MTV, VH1, CMT, Logo, BET, CENTRIC, Nickelodeon, Nick Jr., TeenNick, Nicktoons, Nick at Nite, COMEDY CENTRAL, TV Land, SPIKE, Tr3s, Paramount Channel and VIVA. Paramount Pictures, celebrating its 100th year in 2012 and creator of many of the most beloved motion pictures, continues today as a major global producer and distributor of filmed entertainment. Viacom operates a large portfolio of branded digital media experiences, including many of the world's most popular properties for entertainment, community and casual online gaming.

NEW YORK, Nov. 27, 2012 /Viacom Inc. Press Release via PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Viacom Inc. (NASDAQ: VIAB and VIA) today announced that Philippe Dauman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Viacom, will participate in a question-and-answer session at the 40th Annual UBS Global Media & Communications Conference on Monday, December 3, 2012, at approximately 12:30 p.m. (ET). A live webcast of Mr. Dauman's question-and-answer session will be available to the general public through a link on the Investor Relations homepage of Viacom's website, www.viacom.com. A replay of the audio webcast will be available in the "Events / Webcasts" section of the site.

Viacom is home to the world's premier entertainment brands that connect with audiences through compelling content across television, motion picture, online and mobile platforms in over 160 countries and territories. With more than 160 media networks reaching approximately 700 million global subscribers, Viacom's leading brands include MTV, VH1, CMT, Logo, BET, CENTRIC, Nickelodeon, Nick Jr., TeenNick, Nicktoons, Nick at Nite, COMEDY CENTRAL, TV Land, SPIKE and Tr3s. Paramount Pictures, celebrating its 100th year in 2012 and creator of many of the most beloved motion pictures, continues today as a major global producer and distributor of filmed entertainment. Viacom operates a large portfolio of branded digital media experiences, including many of the world's most popular properties for entertainment, community and casual online gaming.

Live show set to open in December in partnership with Flash Entertainment.

The international growth of Nickelodeon's Dora the Explorer continues, with Dora the Explorer Live Search for the City of Lost Toys opening in Abu Dhabi in December.

Produced in partnership with Flash Entertainment, the touring show has already proved a hit in the UK and Australia. This is as well as across Europe, North America and South America, where Dora the Explorer Live has sold over two million tickets collectively.

Performances will take place on December 14th and 15th at du Forum on Yas Island, Abu Dhabi.

Dora the Explorer currently airs across the Middle East on Nickelodeon's branded block on MBC3.

As the biggest act to emerge from "The X Factor," Direction has No. 1 hits in several countries, but the group makes most of its money through touring (One Direction tours sell out in minutes) and merchandising.

One Direction's members (Harry Styles, Niall Horan, Liam Payne, Zayn Malik and Louis Tomlinson) originally auditioned for "The X Factor" U.K. in 2010 as solo singers but were rejected as solo singers and put together in a group by "X Factor" executive producer Simon Cowell and other "X Factor" decision makers. Cowell was One Direction's mentor on the show. After One Direction came in third place on "The X Factor" U.K. in 2010, Cowell signed the group to Syco Music, the record company that he co-owns with Sony Music. And the rest is history.

The new One Direction dolls from Hasbro are different from the One Direction dolls that went on sale in Europe in 2011. Hasbro's One Direction dolls are singing dolls that are dressed in the same outfits that One Direction wore on the group's first U.S. TV performance, which was on NBC's "Today" on March 12, 2012. Toys R Us reported that the dolls as are among the hottest-selling toys of the holiday season in 2012.

Winners from Nickelodeon's "Your Moment With 1D" contest met One Direction, posed for photos with the group, got autographed dolls and did a Q&A session with One Direction for Nickelodeon. Former "X Factor" U.S. finalist Rachel Crow (fifth place in 2011) is now a starlet at Nickelodeon, and she moderated the Q&A. In 2012, Crow and One Direction signed separate development deals with Nickelodeon.

"The J-14 editors spent their first day back after Thanksgiving break in the best way possible -- hanging with One Direction! Between playing Truth or Dare, chatting about their new Hasbro singing dolls, and chilling in their Times Square hotel in New York City, we had so many awesome moments with the guys on Monday, November 26! Here are a few of our favorites:

"My favorite moment was watching the boys interact with each other. They're always feeding from one another's energy whether they're singing or chasing each other around the room. I also loved watching Liam singing a quote from my favorite holiday movie, 'Elf,' 'I'm in a store and I'm singing!' while we photographed the boys." --J-14 Photo Assistant Nicole Mazza

"My favorite part of the day was getting to sit down and chat with Niall one-on-one -- literally! He hopped off his chair right away and insisted that I sit down while we talked -- what a gentleman!" --J-14 Assistant Editor Laura Knipping

"When One Direction was ready to pose for their J-14 group picture, Niall was off to the side eating a peach yogurt. Everyone was telling him to hurry, but I said, 'He's a growing boy, he needs to eat!' He smiled, lifted up his shirt, and rubbed his bare belly. What a Niall moment -- too cute!" --J-14 Editor-in-Chief Rachel Chang

"Before interviewing Harry, he came over and gave me one of his famous hugs. It was so heartfelt, in fact, that his arm kind of pushed into my throat and I could barely sputter a 'Hi!' Talk about getting choked up!" --J-14 Deputy Editor Ashley Spencer

Yo Gabba Gabba! LIVE! Get The Sillies Out! Tour Will Visit Over 50 Cities Across The U.S. In 2013

LOS ANGELES, Nov. 26, 2012 /W!LDBRAIN Entertainment Press Release via PRNewswire/ -- The sillies are crazy little creatures that live inside of us and need to be shaken out! DJ Lance Rock and everyone's favorite cast of colorful characters are calling all fans across the U.S. to get ready to jump, shake and shimmy them out at the new live tour. The Yo Gabba Gabba! LIVE!: Get The Sillies Out! tour begins in Los Angeles at Nokia Theatre L.A. Live on Friday, November 23 and will visit 50 cities across the U.S. in 2013. Yo Gabba Gabba! LIVE! is touring in support of their first national beverage launch, a new line of toys, a new line of kids sportswear and a DVD/CD collectors edition.

Yo Gabba Gabba! is an award-winning, live-action television series and live stage show whose unconventional formula has created a triple stacked fan base, making it one of the most popular entertainment properties among preschoolers, parents and indie music lovers alike. The television show, now in its fourth season, airs several times a day on Nick Jr. Yo Gabba Gabba! is created by Christian Jacobs and Scott Schultz and is executive produced by Jon Berrett and Michael Polis.

Yo Gabba Gabba! LIVE!: Get the Sillies Out! marks the third tour for the successful Yo Gabba Gabba! LIVE! concert series. The first tour, Yo Gabba Gabba! LIVE!: There's a Party in My City!, launched with a float in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade and a performance at the White House in 2010. Yo Gabba Gabba! LIVE! 2010 tour played to sold out venues in 60 cities. Yo Gabba Gabba! LIVE!: It's Time to Dance! enjoyed repeat success in 2011, energizing audiences across North America at over 120 shows.

Yo Gabba Gabba! premiered in the U.S. on Nickelodeon in August, 2007 and ranks as one of the most popular series on television with broad appeal among preschoolers, parents, teens and adults. The award-winning series is created by Christian Jacobs and Scott Schultz. The live tour is produced with DHX Media by S2BN Entertainment. Yo Gabba Gabba! infuses retro-style and beat-driven music to teach simple life lessons. The series and the live show stars DJ Lance Rock (Lance Robertson) and a cast of colorful characters, including: Brobee, the little green one, Foofa, the pink flower bubble, Muno, the red Cyclops, Toodee, the blue cat-dragon and Plex, the yellow robot. Today's most popular names in movies, television, music and sports flock to the groundbreaking series, including series regulars Biz Markie and Mark Mothersbaugh, and guest stars such as Fred Armisen, Erykah Badu, Jack Black, Anthony Bourdain, Devo, Flaming Lips, Meta World Peace (Ron Artest), Tony Hawk, The Killers, Jack McBrayer, MGMT, Mos Def, The Roots, Andy Samberg, The Shins, Sarah Silverman, Amare Stoudemire, The Ting Tings, Weezer, Jimmy Eat World, Elijah Wood and Weird Al Yankovic, among others. Yo Gabba Gabba! apparel, CDs, DVDs, books and other merchandise are sold online and in mass and specialty retail stores nationwide in the U.S. The series airs several times a day on Nick Jr. and in several major international territories, including Australia, Canada, France, Israel, Latin America, New Zealand, South Africa and the U.K. Visit www.yogabbagabba.com.

The stars of the children's television favorite "Yo Gabba Gabba" have set out on their third tour, " Yo Gabba Gabba Live!: Get The Sillies Out!," which will visit 50 North American cities through next spring.

The award-winning tour kicked off the trip last weekend (11/23) in Los Angeles, and will continue with a three-night stand (11/30-12/2) in New York City. After the holiday break, Yo Gabba Gabba Live! will return to the stage Jan. 10 in Cincinnati, OH, and crisscross the nation over the next three months. The itinerary currently concludes with two consecutive nights (3/23-3/24) in Fort Lauderdale, FL.

Ticketing information is available at the tour's website, and more dates will be announced soon.

Hip-hop legend Biz Markie will join the touring cast of the interactive experience, which will also feature Super Music Friends and Dancey Dance guest performances, according to a press release.

The Nick Jr. series, now in its fourth season, is also promoting a national beverage launch, a new line of toys, kids sportswear and a DVD//CD collectors edition.

Who says that kids’ television can’t offer a bit of entertainment for adults, too? Hatched by Christian Jacobs, the singer of ska band The Aquabats, Yo Gabba Gabba! has been a staple of the Nickelodeon and Nick Jr. network since hitting the airwaves in 2007. Melding learning with noted guest stars and an indie rock undertone, the popular show has gone on the road, featuring all the beloved characters and activities along with a few special guests both young and old attendees will appreciate. (116 W. Wisconsin Ave.,PabstTheater.org)